Defying Gravity
by The BirdFox Hybrid Productions
Summary: CLEON. Taking advice from a Turk was never something Cloud had anticipated doing in his twenty two years of life. “Y’gotta take yer chances, yo.”
1. Chemistry

**Defying Gravity**_  
Psycho Rooster_

* * *

___"Darkness comes in all forms, Cloud." Sephiroth's words penetrated him as deeply as the sword that was embedded into his shoulder through cracked armor, pinning him to the rock walls of the Dark Depths. Sephiroth ignored Cloud's movement to remove the blade from his body, gloved hand reaching forth to grab onto Cloud's clawed arm._

___In a flash, Vincent's gauntlet was cast aside, skittering and falling over the cliff's edge._

___"Why cling to such mere memories?" Cloud's leg jerked up, boot connecting with Sephiroth's palm as the pale-haired man caught the attack before Cloud had even seen the movement. Kicking Sephiroth's hand from his foot earned enough time for Cloud to wrench Masamune from his left shoulder with a squelch of blood, throwing it to the side and grabbing his Buster Sword._

___Metal flashed and Cloud blocked the attack meant to behead him, swinging his sword about to deflect the blow and to lean in for a jab to Sephiroth's stomach._

___He barely caught a flash of Masamune before the butt of the behemoth sword was connecting with his temple. If he had been any less of a realist, Cloud would have sworn he felt his entire brain connect with the opposite side of his head, equilibrium becoming scattered for a breath of a second and his sword falling from his grasp, clattering to the ground._

___Sephiroth's fist grabbed onto the front of his cloak, slamming him against the wall of the Dark Depths and pulling back Masamune, sheathing it and allowing Cloud to regain his sense of balance long enough to realize that Sephiroth was preparing to throw him clear across the rocks._

___He opened his mouth, a shout escaping thin lips before his body was lurched into a pile of rubble. Upon impact, pain flared in his body, the back of his head cracking into the rock before he collapsed to the ground in a heap._

___Cloud could feel his heartbeat prominent in every nerve of his body, feel the tickling sensation of blood sluicing down the side of his temple. It slid down his cheek, dripping off of his chin and staining the ground below him with each struggle for breath that Cloud took in._

___Gravel crunching caused Cloud to crack his eyes open from where he's slumped against the rocks, sucking in a breath and releasing it. Sephiroth's boots stood beside the blond's prone form._

___He jerked his head up just in time to roll towards the man and out of the way of Masamune stabbing into the ground where he once was. Cloud crawled underneath Sephiroth's spread legs, instantly scrambling for his discarded sword._

___Sephiroth caught onto the hem of Vincent's tattered cloak, dragging Cloud backwards and kicking the exSoldier onto his back, a knee digging into Cloud's stomach and crushing the breath out of him._

___The blond's fingers clawed at the rock surface beneath him, trying to find a catch in the ground to pull himself away from the mentally imbalanced man, the source of his darkness._

___Sephiroth leaned down, locks of starlight hair slipping over his shoulders and falling into Cloud's face, tickling the blond's fair cheeks. Cloud pursed his lips, watching Sephiroth place Masamune on the ground, and with his left hand, extract a pale, shining aquamarine vial from a pouch that was clasped to his side._

___"The lifestream..." Sephiroth began in a slow drawl, ignoring Cloud's struggles for air. "It was everything to our world, wasn't it?" Leather creaked as Sephiroth swished the vial around, gaze wandering from the glass tube and to Cloud's grimacing face._

___Sephiroth uncorked the vial, thumb slipping over the opening to cap it. His other hand moved to grab at the cracked shoulder gear of Cloud's injured left arm, fingers slipping underneath of it and wrenching it away. By sheer force, the clasps snapped under Cloud's armpit, cutting into his skin before the armor was thrown across the Dark Depths, clattering into the wall. Cloud's injured arm jerked out to punch Sephiroth, his hand caught in the man's un-occupied fist and forced to the ground._

___"Such a precious thing, our lifestream... though..." Sephiroth paused, his thumb slipping off of the tube's opening as he upended it over Cloud's open shoulder wound._

___"It can be just as deadly." The liquefied lifestream splashed against Cloud's clothes and skin, seeping into the wound and fabric. At first, Cloud felt nothing but the same icy hot feeling one would get when they stick their finger under the hot faucet, a numbing sensation before everything flared into a burning pain._

___Cloud choked, his breath escaping him in an uncontrollable whoosh._

___"Cloud, get up, its sunrise." Sephiroth said, his voice becoming stern. Cloud choked, turning his head to the side as Sephiroth placed a hand on his other shoulder and shook it. _

Cloud's eyes snapped open, breath sucking in through his nose heavily as he stared up at Leon, who was removing his hand from the blond's right arm. Cloud lay on his side, the left side of his body crushed under his own weight and causing a numbed throb to beat all the way down to his fingertips. Leon gave him a prolonged stare before he turned, walking out of the room and shooting the words "Get ready," over his shoulder.

Cloud sat up, wincing as the blood seemed to rush back into his arm, causing a feeling of pins and needles to ricochet through his entire limb. He hissed through his teeth, free arm reflexively moving to clasp to his forearm as achingly familiar shocks of pain hit him like being struck with a low-voltage taser. .

After his fight with Sephiroth, where he'd been found lying unconscious in the Dark Depths by Leon and Aerith, Cloud's arm had become infected with the same Geostigma that had begun to plague their home world a few months before its destruction. It was like a series of dark bruises that marred the surface of Cloud's once-pale arm, occasionally sending jerking pain through his nerves. Cloud had easily hidden it beneath his cloak, and soon changed over to a new outfit with a long sleeve that brushed the edges of his knuckles, his right arm remaining bare.

Cloud clutched to his infected arm, waiting out the electrifying pain that caused his muscles to jump and twitch like a miniature seizure. A few seconds passed and the door cracked open again as Leon poked his head through to see Cloud holding to his clothed appendage.

The man scowled, unaware of the marred flesh beneath the black fabric of Cloud's nightshirt, "Whatever's wrong with you, don't let it hinder your work today." Leon's eyes narrowed as he said this, scrutiny evident in their pale depths before he pulled his head back, calling out for Cloud to 'hurry up' before the door clicked shut.

Cloud pulled himself to his feet, shaking off the last shudders of pain with a flick of his wrist and going about getting dressed for the day ahead of him. They had to start tearing down the steep walls of the Great Maw, along with smoothing out the Crystal Fissure and the Ravine trail to make it a more inhabitable place.

According to Leon's plans, they were to make it possible for refugees of other worlds to find solace in Radiant Garden.

Today's schedule, from what he'd overheard at dinner the previous night, was that Leon and Cloud were to oversee the tearing down of the Ravine's excess walls so that it would become twice as spacious. Yuffie was in charge of the crane, while Tifa was to instruct the volunteers from the Garden on moving the rocks that would be thrown off the edge of the Dark Depths. This was done in order to fill the large canyon that separated it from the castle. Aerith would stay with Merlin and help him remodel the small home (thanks to Merlin's magic, it wasn't as nearly as small inside as it looked outside) while Cid continued his tinkering with the different uses of the Claymore technology.

Pulling on his boots, Cloud stepped through the threshold of his bedroom and made his way over to the breakfast table, where everyone was seated and eating off of magically-refilling plates. A pot of coffee refilled Leon's cup before floating over to fill the mug hovering near Cid's head while the man worked away at the computer.

After Sora had returned to his island, he and his two confidants had been employed by the king to make runs to different worlds in order to maintain order and to collect those who'd been scattered from the dead planets to bring to Radiant Garden.

The town was beginning to flourish with its new inhabitants, who were eager to help the very people that gave them a place to live. They were the main reason that the castle's restoration had been finished by the end of the year and that the committee had been able to start work on the rest of the Garden.

Cloud took his usual seat to the right of Tifa and left of Leon, reaching out for an empty cup as the jug of orange juice floated over and began pouring itself into his glass. Thanking the inanimate object out of routine, Cloud brought the glass to his lips and took a long gulp of it, letting the bitter citrus flavor wake him up.

He set the drink down as Yuffie gave the blond a cheerful 'Mornin' Spike!' through her mouthful of pancakes, to which Aerith scolded the young ninja for trying to talk around her food.

Cloud glanced over to see Leon's plate of pancakes empty, knowing full well that the stoic man was unable to resist any kind of bakery product. (Given the fact that Yuffie had shown up to the worksite with a box of pastries to bribe the man into letting her out of hard labor was enough to make Leon's weakness well known throughout the Restoration Committee.)

"Cloud," Tifa spoke up, pausing in her conversation with Leon about the work to be done in the Great Maw. She placed a strong hand on Cloud's forearm, oblivious to the way the man tensed beneath her fingertips. "How're you doing?"

Cloud pulled his arm from her grasp by reaching out to retrieve his orange juice again, grunting softly. "Fine." He brought the glass to his lips, taking a quick sip before grabbing up his fork and cutting out a triangle of his pancake.

Tifa scowled, but didn't say anything. Things continued on until everyone had finished eating. Leon stood first, retrieving his gloves from beside his plate and tugging them on. "We'd better get to work, the volunteers will be out around nine, so we've got two hours to work on the Maw with the crane." He commanded, earning varied noises of acknowledgement from the table. Sighing, the man turned and left the room, door shutting behind him.

"At least he looks nice?" Yuffie offered meekly, earning a scowl from Cloud and a soft laugh from Aerith.

* * *

"Ya know, Cloudie, I've noticed how strong Leon's been gettin' lately, what with all the heavy liftin' you two are doing." Yuffie huffed as she lifted another heavy rock and handed it off to the blond. After using the crane to break down a good portion of one of the rock walls, the committee and its volunteers had begun a human chain that would hand each rock off from one person to the next, leading all the way out to the Dark Depths, where Tifa was tossing them off the ledge.

"He's getting to be a good sparring partner." Cloud confirmed, taking a boulder out of the petite ninja's hand and giving it to the refugee beside him. Yuffie didn't seem satisfied with the man's response, a sigh of exasperation leaving her small lips as she hefted up another chunk of rubble with a grunt.

"Honestly, Cloudster, haven't you tried thinking outside of the closet?" As she said this, she shoved the large rock into Cloud's arms to emphasize the importance of her words.

A scowl pursed the exSoldier's lips, handing off the boulder and opening his mouth to respond when Leon walked by with a pile of logs held on one shoulder.

Sans jacket, the pale flesh of Leon's skin was sinfully visible through his sweat-drenched wife beater, causing Yuffie to whistle a catcall to the man, who paused before turning to level her with a scowl. Yuffie pointed to Cloud, who earned a flicker of a glance from Leon to see the blond man shaking his head and motioning back to Yuffie.

"How about you stop playing, Yuffie, and get some work done?" Leon scolded, embarrassment evident in his face as he turned again, hands adjusting the logs and heading off towards the Bailey.

Cloud hid the smirk on his face by reaching past Yuffie to pick up some rubble off of the ground and give it to the man beside him while the young ninja gaped at Leon's retreating backside.

Her shoulders hunched and the girl shook her fist at Leon's turned head. "Why, if I had some materia on me, I'd..." She trailed off with a threatening growl, watching the brunet man disappear through the Castle Gate.

Cloud's smirk returned, this time more noticeable. "You'd what?" He questioned, a teasing lilt to his voice. Yuffie seemed to contemplate this for less than a half second when she opened her mouth to speak, words muffled by the sound of a Gummi ship rocketing overhead. Her mouth snapped shut, quickly spreading into a wide grin.

The boulder in her hands was hurriedly shoved into Cloud's not-quite-open arms as the petite girl blurted, "Someone's gotta go greet the Keybearers!" and shot off.

Cloud stared at the rubble in his hands before tossing it to the ground and walking away from the work site, heading after Yuffie at a much slower pace.

He barely made it through the tail end of the Bailey when the sound of running caught up to him. "Cloud, wait!" Tifa called out from behind him, jogging up to the man and grabbing onto his left arm to get him to pause as she caught her breath. Cloud grimaced, but otherwise didn't react to the young woman's actions.

The Bailey echoed loudly with their footsteps, Tifa's fingers gripping to his arm as she contemplated her words before speaking. "Cloud.." The raven-haired fighter began, voice laced with concern. "You never talk to us anymore."

They exited the Bailey, walking past the landing pod that Cid had built on the outer walls of the Borough, where Sora's ship was parked. "I talk." Cloud muttered quietly. A sigh escaped Tifa, eyes rolling heavenward.

Cloud went silent as they made their way down the steps towards Merlin's house. He heard Yuffie before he saw her, picking up the petite ninja's yelling instantly.

"Leon! Let me in! I'll knock that Turk bastard on his ass, for sure!" They neared the old house, the two fighters catching sight of Yuffie kicking the door angrily.

Cloud assumed that Merlin had magicked the door to keep Yuffie out, judging by the way it shocked her every time she tried to touch the knob. Tifa strode past Cloud, placing a hand to Yuffie's shoulder to get her to back off from abusing the aged wood.

She wrapped thin fingers around the brass knob, turning it and opening the door with ease. Yuffie cursed Merlin's magic under her breath, slipping behind Tifa to get inside.

Cloud was close after them, though he barely caught a glimpse of red hair and a black suit before Yuffie released a Wutanese battle cry, lunging forward and tackling the newcomer into Merlin's table. The aged furniture let out a deafening groan before the two back legs collapsed. The center of the table bowed dangerously at the same time until it snapped in half, causing Yuffie and her victim falling to the ground in a heap of wood and limbs.

"Yuffie!" Aerith gasped, a hand rising to her mouth from where she had once stood beside the man that Yuffie was currently pulling the bright red hair of. Sora hurried over to the two struggling bodies, stopping mid-conversation with Leon and his friends in order to try and help the newcomer. His hands encircled Yuffie's waist, leaning back in an attempt to wrench her off of the man. Riku joined in, grabbing Yuffie's legs -- though the little ninja held steadfast to the newcomer's hair, growling threats on the man's life.

It took Cloud a moment to absorb the sight of Reno, one of the Turks who'd worked for ShinRa. Or course, he couldn't really blame Yuffie for wanting to kill the man -- their world had been annihilated because of ShinRa. He rose a hand to the hilt of his buster word in a battle-ready movement.

Taking the heartless and injecting them with Mako had generated the most demonic and indestructible beasts that Cloud had ever laid eyes upon. The largest one, which Cloud later found out was a mutated form of a DarkSide, had called a portal of darkness that had soon torn all of Gaia to pieces. Cloud and the others had watched helplessly from space as their world ceased to exist.

"Easy kitten!" Reno shrieked, his hands atop of Yuffie's to try and ease her hands out of locks of bright auburn hair. "I didn't do nothin'!" He wasn't fighting back, merely trying to save his own skin from the wrath of Yuffie Kisaragi.

Leon glanced over to Cloud, one eyebrow raising in question as to why Yuffie would be attacking a supposedly 'complete stranger.' Kairi, a girl that everyone had heard about, but barely knew, walked over to Cloud and Tifa with pursed lips.

"We found him in the New York, he was staying with a homeless man and some dogs. We wouldn't have realized he was from Midgar if he hadn't recognized our ship. We disguised it this thing called a car, but the magic only works for those that are native to their world." Cloud nodded solemnly, his hand dropping from where it had hovered over the hilt of his buster sword.

Approaching Leon, the blond murmured quietly to him. "Tie him up, he moves fast." The older man nodded, his arms uncrossing so that he could motion to Merlin from across the room. The magician understood the signal, extracting his wand and flicking it so that rope shot out from the tip. It slipped past Riku and Sora, tying itself around Yuffie and pinning the ninja's arms to her side. Yuffie flopped to the ground beside Reno, squirming.

"Merlin, you old coot! Untie me!" The raven-haired girl roared, though it fell on deaf ears as Merlin did the same thing to Reno before the man could get to his feet.

Reno slumped to the ground with a cross look on his face. "I had nothing' to do with those experiments, yo! I'm just a Turk, do what yer told and don't ask questions!"

Cloud narrowed his eyes as Yuffie spat out, "Lies!" and tried to wriggle her way over to the man, teeth gnashing. Riku grabbed onto the rope that was binding her and lifted the petite girl over a shoulder. The older keybearer smirked at the laugh that escaped Sora when Yuffie roared at Riku and kicked her legs wildly.

Cloud approached Reno, his clothed arm lifting to grab a hand at the rope that bound the man, pulling Reno close. "Where are the other Turks?" He asked, getting straight to the point, regardless of whatever trauma Reno might have undergone. Reno scowled.

"Dead."

"How did you survive?" Aerith asked gently from where she stood nearby. Cid grumbled at his computer, murmuring about 'weasels' and 'running away'.

"Rude." Reno muttered, his eyes falling to the ground, unwilling to elaborate. Cloud, displeased, released Reno and stepped back, turning to Leon.

Understanding the silent message, the gunblader withdrew his weapon with a loud 'shing', holding it just under Reno's chin and forcing the man to look up.

Reno's eyes went wide, panic setting in as he looked from Cloud, to the other former Gaians. Tifa and Aerith looked away while a pleased grin stretched onto Yuffie's face, dark eyes alit with malice.

Leon stepped forward and Reno leaned his head back to avoid having his neck cut open. "Elaborate. I also don't appreciate you calling my friends rude." Having heard this reminded Cloud that Leon had no idea who the Turks were, or what ShinRa had done to Cloud's home.

Reno hunched his shoulders. "I got pulled inta th' portal with the Darkside. Woke up on the docks a' some old city. Got taken in by some homeless fella who felt bad fer me." Leon, dissatisfied, twisted his gun blade into Reno's skin. Reno's lower lip trembled in a stutter before he continued.

"ShinRa didn't tell us nothin' 'bout the experiments. We was just s'posed to do what we're told and don' ask questions. When th' big an' ugly came along, they sent all us Turks out to fight it without telling' us they was the ones who made it." Reno's accent became thick, most likely the result of the nervousness that shone in his bright eyes. It reminded Cloud that he was hardly more than a street thug that had been taken from his home and raised to kill for survival.

"None of us stood a chance. Killed almost all th' Turks before the portal even showed up. Me'n' Rude were th' only ones left when the darkness came."

Tifa took a step forward, placing a hand on Leon's shoulder when she saw the way Reno's face became filled with anguish. Sensing it, Leon withdrew. Yuffie had fallen silent, her body going limp on Riku's shoulder as she absorbed the words that Reno had spoken, recalling the murder of her own home, and how she'd been helpless to stop them, just like everyone else.

Tifa knelt beside Reno, who's head was bowed, long hair disheveled and hanging in his face and over his shoulders. A strong hand grasped to his shoulder in order to get the man's attention.

"Reno, what happened to Rude?" Tifa inquired gently. Reno turned his head away from the fighter, taking his lower lip between his teeth.

"Ain't never seen a body impaled on somethin's claw like that. Got me too, but Rude was standin' in front of me, didn't have a chance." Reno's voice was barely above a whisper, causing the majority of the room to shift awkwardly at having forced the man to confess one of the many horrors he was forced to see.

Tifa curled her fingers into Reno's shoulder out of comfort and Aerith walked up to him, motioning for Merlin to magic the ropes off of him. The wizard did so, and Reno instantly curled himself into a ball.

"I didn't wanna fight that thing. Me'n Rude, he was my buddy, we just wanted a home and th' money to live. None a'this was s'posed to happen." Aerith kneeled down Reno's other side, threading her hand through his messy hair and patting his back.

"You're safe now, Reno. You can stay with us, Cloud has a spare bed in his room." Reno picked his head up to look at her with a stare that bordered on disbelief as Leon stepped forward, protest on his tongue.

"Wait just a minute." The brunet began, "How do we know he won't kill Cloud in his sleep?" Having heard Leon's statement, Yuffie voiced her agreement loudly from Riku's shoulder, though she went silent at the look that Tifa shot her.

"Cloud can take care of himself." Aerith stated smoothly, gentle eyes glancing over to her close friend. Cloud crossed his arms from where he stood near the door, leaning against the frame. He was silent.

"Its not Cloud that I'm worried about, its this guy. We don't know how strong he is, or- "

"He can stay." Cloud's voice rang loud and clear across the room, drawing the attention of everyone inside of it. Cid paused in his typing, seat creaking as he turned to stare at the man.

"Ye' so sure 'bout that, Spike?" He barked, cigarette bobbing up and down in his mouth with each word. Cloud pushed himself to his feet, stepping towards Leon and Reno.

"He's fast, but he's not strong. He can stay." Reno didn't seem to protest this, however injured his look was, and Leon accepted Cloud's words, finally sheathing Lionheart.

Sora shifted awkwardly as Riku eased Yuffie to the ground, the ropes disappearing from around her body. She crossed her arms, an unhappy frown on her face.

"We have to get going, we need to see the king before sundown." Sora's voice was remorseful, apologizing silently to the room. Riku nodded his agreement at the boy's statement, proving that Sora wasn't just bluffing to avoid the awkward moment that would soon be coming.

Leon rose a hand to brush a few stray locks of chestnut hair out of his eyes, holding a hand out and taking the keybearer's, shaking it firmly. He repeated the action with Riku, startled when Kairi's skinny arms wrapped around his abdomen in a hug. Awkwardly, Leon patted her head, face flushing at the muffled laughter from Aerith.

Sora and Riku gave hugs to all of the girls before the brown-haired keybearer approached Cloud and held his hand out expectantly. Cloud rose his left hand, pausing at the twitch of pain from his stigma, and then grasped tightly to Sora's extended palm, shaking it firmly.

"Take care." He uttered softly, accepting a hug from Kairi and a nod from Riku. They bid their goodbyes to the Restoration Committee and parted through the doorway. A tense silence fell upon them as Cloud realized that the entire crew had abandoned their posts at the Great Maw.

Reno cleared his throat, grasping the attention of the entire room. "So…" He drawled, nervously peering around himself. "What's for lunch?"

* * *

**Commission 1 from Mitsuru Aki. **  
Leon/Cloud with 'Gravity' 'Chemistry' 'Denial of Feelings' and 'Geostigma;FF7'

___Commission requirement, **20 pages.**_

___50 percent complete._


	2. Actuality

**Defying Gravity  
**_Psycho Rooster_

* * *

Sharing a room with Reno had to be one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of Cloud's battle-hardened life. When Reno wasn't busy talking Cloud's ears off about how closely Leon and the exSoldier resembled each other, he was blathering on about how annoying Yuffie was, or complaining about the extent of his aches and pains that came from the every day reconstruction work.

"Man, I think I'm startin' to wish those key kids had just left me back in New York." Reno signed loudly, flopping back onto his bed that lay across the room from Cloud's. The action caused his hair to splay across the pillow in dark auburn clumps, it being wet from sweat and the water that Reno had poured on it not long before coming inside. Cloud hummed, pulling his sword and sheathe off and laying it on the floor before he took a seat on the edge of his mattress. Reno turned his head to watch the man with scrutiny.

"Y'look hot, Spike, why not take that sleeve thing off, yo?" He asked lazily, kicking his shoes off and pulling his legs onto the bed. After Reno had come along, Aerith and Tifa had both made a day about getting him new clothes that better suited the redhead for hard labor. They consisted of a black jacket, a white undershirt, and black pants littered with pockets- a color scheme similar to his suit, since nobody could see him wearing otherwise- but more work efficient for the reconstruction efforts.

Cloud ignored Reno, standing up again and walking out of the room to get a glass of water from the tap. Reno watched him leave before rolling over to face the wall and curling up with a pillow held tightly to his chest, cuddling it with a relaxed sigh.

Most everyone was in their rooms, resting up before dinner. To Cloud, it was like having a large family inside of a very small home. It was almost too-comfortable for Cloud, which was why he often would leave for days on end without a single word. He'd come to realize that it wasn't the wisest thing to do, judging by the way Leon and Tifa would scold him upon his return.

Staying with Reno had made it difficult for Cloud to tolerate anyone, it seemed. The obnoxious redhead was an invasion of the very privacy that Cloud had agonized over keeping, and it made the exSoldier wary. Reno had made a show of clapping Cloud on his arm one too many times for him to think that Reno didn't have suspicions about what lay underneath the dark cloth. Reno, however brash and loud he may have been, was still a Turk, and it shone through in the way his eyes would become beady in thought, or his lips would purse when Cloud would wake up with a sudden jerk and sharp inhalation.

This was why Cloud was heading for the kitchen to retrieve a small bag of food, why he ignored Aerith's greeting and Merlin's inquiry as to whether Cloud needed something. He grabbed the satchel from atop one of the many cabinets that lined the old kitchen, reaching past Aerith while the woman sliced up carrots and grabbing a loaf of bread from the three that sat on the stove. Merlin huffed at the action, looking as if he were about to give the man a tongue lashing about reaching past people, when Leon stepped into the kitchen.

"Aerith, do you- " He paused, eyes catching Cloud's movement and seeing him pick up a handful of apples to place in his bag. His pale eyes narrowed, causing his scar to purse with the movement of his eyebrows.

"Cloud." The aforementioned man ignored Leon, instead reaching under the counter to open a cabinet that he kept flasks of water in, procuring two and placing them in his satchel.

"You're not leaving." Leon's voice was harsh, filled with a stern command that made Cloud feel like he was a child being scolded by his older brother. Anger rose up in the blond, but he ignored it in favor of standing up and shouldering the pack.

Their eyes connected, and for a few seconds, Cloud felt enough shame to look away. He stepped forward, preparing to brush past Leon's normally complacent form. Stepping to the left, Cloud barely brushed shoulders with Leon when he felt a strong hand grasping to his good arm, stopping him.

"We have too much work for you to just leave when you want." Cloud wrenched his arm away, mouth pulling down into a scowl.

"Things are under control without me." He retorted, making sure to keep his voice level in lieu of getting riled up. Turning, Cloud headed back to his room to retrieve his sword, Leon's footsteps making it evident that he was following the blond man.

"You're not leaving in that condition." Cloud stopped before reaching the door to his and Reno's room, head shifting to the left, but not turning. He seemed to contemplate Leon's words, weighing them in his head before reaching out to grab the knob and open the door.

"There is no condition." He said, stepping over the threshold and into the room, glancing over to Reno's snoozing form that was intimately holding a pillow. He knelt down, strapping his sword's sheathe to his back and lifting the heavy weapon in order to slip it into the leather holster.

Leon didn't seem to be satisfied with this, judging by the unhappy grunt that left the man after Cloud brushed him off. The exSoldier turned to level Leon with his most powerful stare.

"I'm leaving." The words came out of Cloud as more of a demand than a request, his arm rising to the hilt of his sword, showing Leon that he wasn't ready to back down just yet. Leon's eyes flickered wide for a split second, obviously surprised at how adamant Cloud was to leave, though it did little to hinder the man's resolve.

"You're staying." Leon replied just as forcefully, a gloved hand reaching out to push Cloud back into his room, his heel kicking the door shut. Cloud's arm shot out, grabbing onto Leon's hand as his elbow shot forward in an attempt to connect with the older man's chin. Leon jerked back, his other hand catching Cloud's forearm so that they were trapped in a stalemate.

Cloud pursed his lips, wriggling his hands free of Leon's grip and stepping back. If he was going to leave, it obviously had to be done when the brunet man wasn't in such a foul mood. He unclasped his buster sword, all-but throwing it to the ground at Leon's feet and whirling around.

The pain struck him before Cloud could really register it. Flashes of Sephiroth, Midgar's destruction, and the wrath of the heartless all flickered in his mind's eye-- things that had plagued the blond man's mind at one point or another. His left knee buckled, but Cloud was able to reach the bed to sit down before the stigma's effects truly set in.

His arm was shaking so viciously that it seemed to be vibrating. He could feel something slick seeping from his skin, thicker than sweat, as if his very pores were bleeding. He hissed, ignoring the way Leon approached him in lieu of clutching to his infected arm.

Sephiroth was most likely within the vicinity if his arm was reacting so badly. Black fluid dripped down off of his arm and hit the mattress, soaking in and leaving a dark stain as the shocks of agony began to travel up his shoulder and to his neck and collarbone, intense enough that it was difficult for Cloud to grasp a decent lungful of air.

Leon, sensing this, knelt before Cloud, reaching out to grab the blond's good hand and jerking back when he found his own coated in a sticky black fluid. Cloud turned his head in shame, body trembling as pain continued to ricochet through his nerves.

"it's the Stigma, yo, that's what y'got, ain't it?" Reno's voice called out from across the room. "Th'disease of th' life stream." Leon turned his head to peer at Reno with scrutiny, though he was given a half-hearted shrug in return. Cloud didn't see much past the exchange as things began to swim dangerously in his vision. Leon's hands rose to his face, strong fingers clasping to Cloud's cheeks and forcing him to stay focused.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Leon hissed, his voice barely audible above the ringing in Cloud's ears. Cloud drew a shaking breath through his nose as his arm jerked and twitched like a thousand volts were being shot through is muscles.

"Don't tell nobody, Spike ain't gonna like that." Reno warned loudly from wherever he he'd chosen to stand in the room. Cloud was too focused on his own pain to even begin to comprehend where the redhead was located.

"Cloud." Leon barked, trying to rouse Cloud back from where he had started to drift into the realms of unconsciousness. Cloud grimaced as the pain began to hit its peak. "Cloud, stay with me." Regardless of how hard Leon tried to keep Cloud awake, the blond man swayed dangerously, black liquid pooling around his arm and rapidly soaking into the bed sheets.

It was a vile, putrid scent, the epitome of death and darkness itself, overwhelming Cloud.

Suddenly, the pain stopped. It left him as fast as it had come upon him, nothing but inky stains and his thundering heart as proof that it had ever existed. Cloud trembled, feeling Leon's fingers digging into his cheeks as the man tried to coax him back into reality.

He straightened, eyes slowly rising to connect with a pair of eyes so pale of a blue that it was like looking into a sky before a storm. Leon's gaze, filled with a concern, wavered as Cloud pursed his lips and rose a hand to tug Leon's own away from his cheeks.

"I'll stay." He uttered softly, ignoring the relieved sag of Leon's shoulders in lieu of shaking excess pus from his hand. He glanced to the shut door, standing after a moment and swaying on his feet enough for Leon to hover net to him.

"I'm fine." Cloud croaked, his good arm reaching out to signal Leon to back off. The man did so, though reluctantly, as Cloud stumbled for the door, his path obviously set for the bathroom to clean himself up.

When Cloud returned, Leon was gone and Reno was sitting on the bed, running his fingers through his hair in a makeshift form of combing. Cloud shut the door, flicking the lock and instantly wrenching his sleeve off, ignoring the startled noise from Reno.

"Fuck man, that can't be healthy." Reno murmured quietly. Cloud ignored him, tossing the sleeve into a pile of dirty clothes and approaching his dresser to root through it for something suitable to wear. He was displeased to find that the only other clean article of clothing with a long sleeve was a black turtleneck that Aerith had gotten him last winter.

Withholding the sigh that wanted to escape him, Cloud began to divest himself of his gloves and then his shirt. It was difficult to ignore the appreciative whistle from Reno, but Cloud managed to do so in stride, tugging the turtleneck over his head and wincing at how snugly it fit his neck and chest. Dinner would be ready soon enough, so he discarded his boots by the dresser, keeping his socks on and shutting the drawer.

"Y'know, Spike. Me'n'Rude… we were close." Reno drawled quietly, laying back on his bed and continuing to comb his fingers through his hair. Cloud paused mid-way to the door and turned to look at the redhead, curiosity piqued.

"Loved him more'n a hot shower and a warm bed t'sleep in." Reno continued idly. "Hated him fer leavin' me, though." Cloud took a step back towards his own bed, sitting down on it, silent. "But…. I never cried before that day, 'cept when my ma left us when I was a kid." Reno rolled on his side, back to the exSoldier as he continued.

"Turks die, ain't something' new… just …never Rude, yo, never Rude. Barely had time with him, best partner a man could ask for.." Reno's voice cracked and he released a soft laugh, going silent.

Cloud frowned. "Why are you telling me this?"

Reno rolled over. "Y'gotta take yer chances, yo." The way he said this struck Cloud deeply, understanding the meaning of the redhead's words without explanation. He looked away, face heating up with embarrassment.

"Its not like that."

Reno gave a dry laugh at the blond's protest and sat up. "Spike, puppies and kittens ain't like that, you'n' tall-dark-an'-handsome? Yer like that, really like that." Reno made a connecting motion with his hands, brows wiggling suggestively. Cloud rolled his eyes, standing up.

"Its too dangerous." He made his way for the door. Reno scowled, calling out to Cloud's retreating form.

"Everyone's gonna leave you at some time, Cloud... but ya gotta take what you can, that's the life of a Turk…" He paused for a moment before adding on, "…and a Soldier."

Cloud shut the door behind himself.

"So that stigma shit, y'gonna do anythin' bout it?" Reno huffed as he dug his shovel into the ground, boot stepping on it to force it deep into the rocks. He and Cloud were sectioned off on one part of the Great Maw's tall ledge. Pairs had been split off along the entire Maw, all with shovels and picks in order to wear down the steep sides of the Great Maw so that the crane was able to reach the top to tear it the rock face down. Tifa and Leon were a good twenty feet away from Cloud and Reno, helping out some newer volunteers with their work.

Cloud didn't reply, shoveling some rocks over the ledge and into the Maw itself before repeating the process. Reno grunted, shovel digging into the ledge, chunks of dirt and rubble breaking off and falling down the rock walls. After a moment, the redhead stood back, swiping an arm across his brow with a loud sigh and turning to watch the others work.

He leaned on the pole of his shovel, obviously admiring the bent over form of Leon, who was adjusting the head of one of the volunteers' pick-axes before standing up.

"S'got a nice ass, yo." The Turk drawled, glancing back to the working blond. Cloud ignored the coil of irritation that churned in his gut, shoulders rising and falling in response to the redhead's statement. Reno sighed, looking away from Cloud to watch Tifa and Leon talking quietly to each other amidst their work.

"Looks like Tif's got some chemistry goin' on with tall-dark-and-handsome, eh?" Reno stood straight, pulling his shovel out of the ground and getting back to work with a huff. "Maybe Leon's got a thing for dark hair. I like 'em bald myself." He scooped up another load of rubble, chucking it over the ledge.

After the Geostigma incident the day before, Leon had been wary of Cloud - in the same way that Tifa had been when she had first found him- as if afraid that a single action would cause him to disappear into thin air. Cloud himself was uneasy about leaving the Garden when his stigma was so prone to having a bad reaction to his emotions or the presence of Sephiroth. It was the very same reason that he hadn't left in the middle of the night, besides having heard Reno shifting until early hours of the morning.

As it was, the Turk's words, however true or untrue, had left Cloud with more jumbled thoughts in his head than he liked to have had. With Sephiroth on his mind, Cloud didn't worry as much about how he felt towards the rest of his 'family', let alone what he thought of Leon, the stoic man who was everything that Sephiroth wasn't, yet so very much the same. Leon had made himself known to Cloud as the head of their dysfunctional household, he'd asserted himself in Cloud's life like a father, a brother, and the understanding best friend that Cloud hadn't had since Zack had died back home.

Leon had opened his home to everyone, allowing the refugees of Midgar to take solace in the Garden that had once housed all of the man's loved ones, who were either scattered across the world, or dead. To do such a thing was one of the greatest acts of kindness that Cloud had ever witnessed, and yet Leon made it so much less simple by taking the survivors and requesting their help in making the Garden a better home than it had ever been. Cloud admired Leon's integrity, as begrudging as he was to admit, and it was part of the reason that Reno's words had put a spin on Cloud's entire mental world.

"Yo, Spike, you listenin' t'me?" Cloud was pulled out of his thoughts by a hand waving in his face. Startled, Cloud took a step back, the heel of his boot teetering over the ledge. He opened his mouth to speak when the gravel beneath his feet gave way and Cloud suddenly found himself falling.

"Shit!" Reno yelled, lunging forward to grab Cloud's arm as the man disappeared over the ledge. His fingers wrapped around the cleaned black sleeve of Cloud's shirt, grabbing the blond's wrist. "I got'cha, Spike!" The Turk huffed, barely keeping himself from propelling over the edge of the Maw with him. Cloud nodded, the only thoughts in his head seeming to be how gravity was so insignificant when he worked for Hades, and that it suddenly pulled at his body like lead weights trying to drag him back into the depths of Hell itself.

"F-Fuck!" Cloud felt his shirt rip before he saw it, the sleeve tearing off as Reno's hold on his arm began to give way. He caught a glimpse of Leon and Tifa running over before the Turk lost his grip completely and Cloud dropped. The fear that suddenly grasped him was like a noose, the stigma reacting violently in turn and causing pain to take over his paralyzing fright. He hit the wall, vision fading to black before sharply focusing on the blur of his surroundings and Leon and Tifa yelling his name as he tumbled down the rocked slope. Dirt was in his eyes, nose, mouth, ears, gravel cutting open every inch of skin that it could get ahold of.

Just before he hit the bottom, Cloud couldn't help but realize that Reno's words had rung true.

He hit the ground, and then there was nothing.

* * *

_"Fuck, man, m'sorry Spike, but y'gotta wake up, tall-dark-and-handsome ain't actin' right without ya." A hand pressing to his arm, shaking it, squeezing it, and then stroking it apologetically._

...

_A warm cloth wiping over his face, down his cheek and along his neck. "Leon, his fever isn't going down, I don't know what to do." A pause, the cloth continued moving, and then a sob. "He should have told us..." A thin-fingered hand pressing against his cheek, cold against his too-hot skin._

...

_Silence, breathing that wasn't his own, heavy and sleep-laden. A door creaking. "Leon? Dinner's ready." A chair groaning and shadows moving from somewhere beyond his closed eyes. A large hand pressed to his forehead, resting there before it left, along with the owner._

_..._

_"Merlin, how is he doing?" A tingling sensation in his numb arm, heat floating over his chest and right leg. An aged sigh. "There's not much I can do with this infection on his arm. It seems to be immune to my magic." A wrinkled hand running gently along Cloud's arm, shivers of pain shooting through it._

_"I'm afraid he might not make it."_

_..._

_"Cloud." A sob, thin arms resting over his abdomen, clutching to him. "Cloud, you have to wake up." Bracelets jingled as tears pattered against the skin of his chest - it must have been bare. Clothing shifted, the sobbing increasing as a petite hand ran along his arm, caressing the stigma as if it were glass._

_"Cloud... Leon's scared, we're all scared. If you can hear me, you have to fight it." Tears pattered against his arm, generating a warm and soothing sensation._

_A gasp._

x--x

The Postern was silent, except for the echoes of construction that came from outside the Castle Gates. Without his formerly-mandatory black sleeve, the cool wind penetrated the skin of his left arm and left a chill through the blond. He'd woken up after almost an entire week of being comatose. He'd landed more on his side than on his back, causing a break and a fracture to his left arm, along with a crack in the rib that his elbow had connected with upon hitting the ground. His leg had also landed oddly, breaking just below the kneecap. Cloud had been under a sleeping spell for a good portion of the time, though, apparently, after the second day, the spell had faded into a bad fever induced by his fluctuating stigma infection that had prevented Cloud from waking up at all.

According to Aerith, her tears had been what had removed the Geostigma from Cloud's arm. It made sense, in a way, given that the girl was the last living Ancient of their world.

He'd distanced himself after the incident, avoiding Leon's hovering presence as much as he could. It was a comforting feeling to know that the older man was worried, but at the same time it left Cloud feeling like he was a weak link in the chain of fighters that lived in their household.

Eyes falling shut, the exSoldier allowed himself to lean against the outer walls of the Postern, arms crossing as the fabric tied around his hips flapped in the early morning wind.

Footsteps crunched along the gravel pathway towards Cloud's location, too heavy to be Reno's and too strong to be Cid's. Cloud's eyes remained closed as Leon walked towards him, stopping just before the blond man.

"You should be resting."

"I'm fine." Cloud answered, dropping his arms to look up at the man. Leon stepped closer, as if hesitating with his next words.

"You almost died." He uttered, voice softening at this statement as he shifted uncomfortably in front of the younger man. Anger coiled in Cloud's gut, fused with embarrassment and what little attraction had managed to wriggle its way through. He looked away, pushing himself off of the wall and brushing past Leon.

"Stop acting like you care." He paused mid-step, memories striking him like rapid fire. "Sephiroth did that." It came out as a low murmur, barely audible above the wind and distant sounds of construction. He continued forward, heart clenching in a way that had him clenching his jaw to ignore the burn in his chest.

Leon's arm was around his bicep before Cloud could even properly react, his words snapping out of him with a sudden coil of anger. "Don't compare me to your darkness, Cloud."

Words escaped Cloud, startled at the blunt manner of Leon's statement. His eyes connected with stormy gray that searched his own for an answer Cloud wasn't sure he could give. Cloud stepped back, arm pulling out of Leon's suddenly-lax grip. He turned, walking off of the platform. His feet barely hit the gravel path when Leon shouted after him.

"Don't walk away from this!"

Cloud stopped, fingers curling into fists. Indecision, denial, guilt, all feelings that he'd suffered with for years, came back tenfold at Leon's desperate command. Shoulders sagging, Cloud rose his head regally, clamping down on the emotions that raged inside of him.

"There is _nothing_ to walk away from." He replied curtly, heading down the beaten gravel pathway and towards the Bailey. The sound of a sword becoming unsheathed caused the man to tense in his stride, barely dodging Leon's gunblade as it shot past him, stabbing into the ground a few feet ahead of him and shaking from the sheer force. Hearing Leon approach, Cloud's arm pulled back to grab the hilt of his sword, unable to draw it much further than a few inches before Leon grabbed him and whirled him around, strong hands clutching to the blond's wrists, shaking them.

"Don't tell me you can't feel it, or are you just that indifferent?" Leon barked, his hazy eyes narrowing and lips pursing into a scowl. Cloud froze, body heating at the sheer proximity of Leon, how his breath ghosted over Cloud's mouth, his scar prominent on unhappy features. Reno's words came back to the blond, the despair in the man's voice, the encouraging way he told Cloud to take the feeling and go with it.

Cloud's eyes fell from Leon's gaze. "What if I don't want to feel it?" A barely audible murmur to the man before him. Leon caught the words, fingers tightening on Cloud's wrists and pulling the blond even closer.

"That's too bad." Cloud's head snapped up to stare at Leon, gaping. A faint smirk darted over thin lips before Cloud realized that the older man was leaning forward. Their lips connected chastely, and Cloud's breath seemed to disappear, his heart thundering in his chest madly. Leon's released his hold on the blond's wrists, one arm encircling the strong waist and pulling Cloud flush up against himself.

Cloud, hesitantly, returned the kiss, vaguely realizing that it wasn't always a bad idea to take advice from a Turk.

end.

x--x

Commission by Mitsuru Aki

I don't like how the ending turned out. Its too rushed, but I had to make sure it was at twenty pages exactly. -sigh- oh well. drop a line and tell me what you think.


End file.
